As you know, the situation in the North is very difficult. We're doing all we can in order to enable the mayors and heads of local councils of the cities and towns in the North to ease the lives of the people who have to stay in bomb shelters on a daily basis. As soon these events broke out, we went around to the areas of conflict, distributing financial aid in the names of our Christian friends, so that the people can buy food, diapers, equipment for the shelters, activity kits and games for children, fans, etc. All of the mayors thanked us, and all of them had warm words for The Fellowship.

Rabbi Eckstein and I were interviewed on television, and we emphasized the aid which is coming from Christian supporters of Israel. We stressed that this aid, which is given because of the Christian belief in the Bible and the religious calling to help the Jewish people, is a constant, and that it is flowing even more heavily in

It's hard to describe just how hot a crowded shelter can be. In addition to the heat, there is tension, and a great deal of pent-up energy. These children know something is wrong they should be outside running around during their summer break. During our conversations with the student counselors, we were told that dealing with the tension and the fear of the unknown is their biggest challenge.

The activity kits themselves are huge packages. On the top of each is a beautiful card noting that they are a gift from Yechiel and the IFCJ. The kits contain crayons, pastels, magic markers, playing cards, papers and activity books. As soon as they were opened the children started drawing, coloring, and playing. The mood in the room immediately changed from gloomy to cheerful. There were shouts of joy. When one of the journalists who accompanied us on the visit saw the children's reaction, she exclaimed, "They're acting as if Christmas has come early"!

The beautiful thing about children is that they're pure and honest. They speak from the heart with no ulterior motives. The smiles and the thanks we got are something we'll never forget.

Haifa, Israel's 3rd largest city, has been subjected to an unbearable barrage of katyusha rocket this past week. Several people were killed following a direct hit on a train depot. It’s also home to Israel's major northern port. The port has been closed because of the rocket attacks, which is major blow to the local economy. But it remains an "attractive" target to terrorist rockets because of the dangerous industrial chemicals which are stored there. The potential for disaster hovers in the air.

The first impression one gets upon entering the city is that of being in a ghost town. The streets are empty and businesses are closed. It's simply hard to reconcile expectations with reality. The streets should be bustling with children and activity -- this is summer vacation, after all.

We headed straight to a meeting with Israel's Minister of Education, Prof. Yuli Tamir. Minister Tamir had requested that the IFCJ fund children's activity kits for use in the bomb shelters and secure rooms. We were then escorted to a huge secure room which is housing about 30 or more Ethiopian elementary school children between the ages of 6-12, as well as volunteer university students who are acting as their counselors.

Yesterday I finished the third of three Jewish groups. It was a very busy and hard month. The buses were full. Two groups were from Reform and Conservative congregations. The itineraries were very full, every day till late. I learnt about the challenges of the Jewish congregations in America, and I met some older rabbis and some very young ones. Having the congregations come to Israel for a Jewish experience was a tremendous experience for all the people. I think that too often we Israelis do not appreciate the supreme effort that Jewish leadership is going through in the Diaspora, trying to give a full Jewish life. In Israel we take if for granted. We say we are Jewish 365 days a year. In the Diaspora it is so much harder.

I went to several services all in Hebrew, very spiritual, very meaningful. Not the usual orthodox prayer but still good. I met some wonderful communities in Haifa. Even in Jerusalem one feels the influences of these movements. My daughter goes to one of their schools and we are pleased that she is learning respect for her religion. I also learnt from the rabbis-Jewish law, Talmud, the role of the synagogue...I hope these groups keep on coming. I am sure they will.

So I have been very busy. I really hope that all the work does not disappear. I am pretty well booked. We will see and pray.

In early June I led a group of evangelical ministers on a familiarization tour of Israel. They had a different itinerary. The theme was that God had sent Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses into the desert to teach them basic principles such as "love thy neighbor as yourself". The desert can be seen as "God's School garden". The desert teaches survival, modesty, honesty, simplicity, humbleness, equality, family values. By concentration and starting in the desert these topics could be addressed. We were at Arad and talked about Moses, we are at Zin and talked about Joshua and the spies, about Kadesh Barnea, about the lessons of the dessert. We went on a water hike in Avdat during very hot weather and talked about water, survival, Moses hitting the stone...We went to Bethabara on the Jordan River, possibly the proper place of the baptism of Jesus. Then we continued up north, followed our biblical stories, and climaxed it all in Jerusalem the eternal Zion of our people. It was very exciting, and got me to do some thinking. The tour was harder, we had to travel much longer distances than usual, making for harder days. The people were exhausted, but we had a great time.

Things were looking so good. A year and half ago when tourism started picking up I did not believe it. What about Hamas? What about the Palestinians? What about terrorism? It seemed that people were getting used to terrorism, that they were not afraid to make decisions in spite of all the threats. There seems to have been a great maturation in the Western tourist. He accepts the dangers of the world, and knows that there will be no peace tomorrow. Of course a good part of this increased tourism was from the fact that the enemy was being stopped by our military, that the fence seems to have a tremendous affect. But still the dangers did not disappear. I suspect and pray that the same will happen with the Hezbollah. Our army will take care of most of their terror. They may not be able to stop them completely. Lebanon and other Arab states will force them to stop. They will still try here and there. And once things quiet down the tourists will return.

The last few months have been very busy. Just after Independence Day I led a tour group that came on a private airplane, were very interesting. The highlight for me was a helicopter tour -- we took off by Latrun, flew up towards Jerusalem along the Judean Hills, turned north and observed the line between us and the Palestinians, the green line and the fence being built. We saw both settlements and Arab villages. It was amazing how small our country is. It made me think, we have so little land -- what do they want from us? The Mediterranean is so close to the West Bank, to Judea and Samaria. The beauty from above was terrific, the planted forests, the rich farms, the beautiful hills. We continued over the Hefer valley on the way up to Caesarea, flew over the theater twice, and headed south along the Mediterranean beaches, flew over Netanya and saw the Park Hotel where the suicide bomber blew up on Passover Eve three years ago, continued to Tel Aviv, and then back to Latrun. All this we did in 90 minutes. It was great.

It seems callous but actually we are going away. We planned to go on vacation this week. We have decided not to cancel. Obviously we have friends at the front (that means they live up north), even some family, but in Israel life must go on. After 9/11 we traveled one week after, so even now. We will be in South Africa for a few weeks doing some safari tours and nature tours. It sounds terrific. I don't think we are the only Israelis traveling probably another million will also be overseas. How terrible that war is just part of our usual life. To continue the thought on something Golda Meir said about the Arab world: we will never be able to forgive them for making war a normal part of our lives. She actually said "I will never be able to forgive the Arab world for making me kill their sons". I stretched it a lot. So should we feel guilt about going on vacation? I guess not.

Last Wednesday I left the north with my group. We were not far from the border, had been to Zefat, had done kayaks on the Jordan River, had done a jeep ride up the Golan Heights. When we reached the Jezreel Valley we heard about the two soldiers who had been kidnapped, about the army going into action. My group was lucky. We continued down to the Dead Sea and then to Eilat. Yesterday they went to Petra and tomorrow they are flying up to Tel Aviv. I will tour with them and then tomorrow night they fly home.

So sitting in Jerusalem it seems far away. Hotels are full, all the groups came down from the north. But by next week I suspect things will get much quieter in tourism. I do not think groups will be arriving.

It seems that these letters started when the last intifada began. I had a lot of time, so I decided to write to my friends. My writing was usually linked to whether I was working, or what events were happening, what terrible and wonderful things were happening here. It looks like I will have time to write more frequently. This latest chapter of war has fallen on us unexpectedly. Maybe it will be a short story and will disappear quickly. Either way, its effects on tourism will last for a bit. The stories are from the areas my tourists have visited, well known sites, the places that make me remember that "I" was there -- Zefat, Dan, Tiberias, Haifa. The damage may not be too bad and the loss of life less than those suicide attacks but still the fear, the terror is great. Our enemy has hurt us. We of course are hurting him very, very powerfully.

So maybe I will have more time to write. My friends like it and maybe more importantly I enjoy it and it helps me to deal with the sadness, the frustration, the anger. I have received quite a few e mails this week, even some phone calls. We have offers to visit and stay in California, New Jersey, Florida, Canada...Not bad. Your press really seems to make things look bad here. It certainly is for those living in the north. But still wars are something we have tragically gotten used to. Sitting here it does not all seem that bad. On the other hand 25 have died in the last week. That is unforgivable, death we can never get used to.

We head back to Jerusalem with a greater understanding of the practical effect The Fellowship has on the lives of the people of Israel. Witnessing how The Fellowship acts as an emergency fund, and seeing the appreciation shown by people from the mayors of cities down to little children gave us all a renewed sense of satisfaction from our work, and an even greater appreciation for our donors.

Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres invited Fellowship representatives to a meeting in Naharia of mayors of Israel’s northern cities. Naharia is very close to the Lebanon border. The organizers asked Dvora Ganani, The Fellowship’s Director General, to represent Rabbi Eckstein (who was traveling to Israel from the U.S.) be one of the speakers. She told those attending about Rabbi Eckstein’s commitment to help all the cities in Israel suffering from constant rocket attacks, and assured the mayors that they can rely on The Fellowship and our supporters for food, diapers, bedding for the bomb shelters and other basic needs.

During the meeting, rockets hit the city and the electricity in the meeting room went off. Those moments of dark, as well as the empty streets of the city, provided a very strong demonstration of the danger the people there need to face. Channel 1, the Israeli National television channel, broadcasted live the whole meeting. Reporters from all other Israeli media radio, television channels 2 and 10, all major newspapers and internet news sites covered this meeting as well.